Breadcrumb navigation:

Legacy Grants

Bringing Books and Hope to Children in Eldoret

With my Legacy Grant, I helped build a library in the Langas slum of Eldoret, Keyna—the first public library in the slum, whose population includes over 200,000 people. What drew us into this project was the lack of resources available to the youth in the area. Due to poverty and recent political unrest, a growing population of children is living homeless on the streets of Eldoret. Many turn to drugs and crime, partially due to a lack of mentorship.

Our library has created a safe environment for these kids to learn, read, and explore the world through books. In talking with these children, we heard that they aspire to be pilots, engineers, or teachers, or even to run a zoo!

In filling this library with books we have given those future pilots wings to soar, engineers tools for creation, and zookeepers keys to their palace. Giving these children the opportunity to read and learn about the world for the first time in their lives has cultivated their motivation to further succeed in life.

The Legacy Grant helped us purchase a few hundred books, along with tables, chairs, and even a few computers. The kids love the library and it shows, because by lunchtime everyday all the chairs and desks are filled. In building this library the Legacy Grant has helped us to create a self-sustainable location in which underprivileged children have the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe and friendly environment.